I won’t do you the disservice of lying. [Teasing as it is, that start, there's also so much smugness in play for a solid half beat or two:] You and I both know I could tear you to shreds in an instant if I wanted to.

But I don’t want to. You’re far too pretty to die.

[There. Ego padded with simple honesty instead. A far rarer gift.

As for the rest, though....]

Still, you’re not wrong there. And admittedly not a day goes by where it doesn’t bring me some amount of comfort, knowing what I do about you. [He means that. Despite the casualness of his exchanges with so much of Riftwatch, there are startlingly few souls present that serve as a balm against Astarion's own (at times paranoid) fears.

Collateral helps. Duplicitous collateral even more so, if only for the fact that at times a spy and a spawn like Astarion aren't all that different. Easier to trust a snake that says it's a snake, than a tactician that claims themselves nothing more than a diligent observer.] Can’t imagine you’ve shared it with many souls here— although it would be particularly clever if you did. Making everyone feel at ease around you with a not so secret secret.

But like I said, I don’t suspect you of that kind of deception. We’ve seen a great deal of one another’s scars, all things considered.

I place faith in that.

[He does. He's learned to.]